ALCA Executive Office
Mrs. Emily L. Rich, ALCA Executive Director
LOCATION: ALCA's Executive Office is in Birmingham, Alabama.
PURPOSE: The office functions as the primary facilitator for Association business and activities. It also serves as the records and archives depository for the Association. The Executive Director maintains the continuity of the organization from year to year.
HISTORY: Since its inception in 1966, one of the stated objectives of the Association was to establish a central office and staff to maintain the continuity of the organization and to insure an efficient, effective operation of our activities. In 1986, Dr. Wilbur Tincher was chosen as the Association's first executive secretary. Upon his retirement in 1991, Dr. Ervin L. (Chip) Wood was named the Association's second executive. The office was then moved to Livingston. In 2000, the title of chief executive was changed to Executive Director. The ALCA office was moved to Birmingham when Dr. Nancy Fox officially began her service on January 1, 2018. She then retired on December 31, 2021. Mrs. Emily L. Rich took over as Executive Director on January 1, 2022.
PHILOSOPHY: While the Executive Director's office is the central office for the Association and serves as the main facilitator of the activities of the Association, it, like all of the other activities of the Association, is primarily run through the contributing efforts of the individuals involved. None of the central office staff are full-time. All of them are committed to the counseling profession and serve to help ALCA be effective and viable.
The Executive Director believes the strength of our organization is its members and very much adheres to that philosophy himself. It is very important that counselors have a viable presence statewide and to accomplish this the ALCA needed a person to organize, coordinate and maintain continuity.
The Association's central office is effective and efficient because it is highly organized. Personnel and resources are limited. It is very important that the members of the organization understand that the staff, like themselves, are members of the Association who serve because they want to and perform much of their work because of caring about people and the Association.
PART-TIME ASSISTANCE: The Executive Office includes the Executive Director. Some part-time help is hired periodically to assist with specific projects. The executive director is the conscience and stabilizing influence of ALCA. She has experience in education, counseling, and ALCA procedures, protocol, and issues.
FUNDING: The central office operates on a total budget of approximately $54,000 including all salaries, support for which it has to pay, and operational expenses. This figure represents approximately 25% of the Association's total budget. According to industry standards, normal administrative overhead for an organization would run 50-75% of the total budget. ALCA is able to do all of the things that it does for its members because we have been able to hold administrative costs to a minimum.
OPERATION: The ALCA office operates full time from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. each day. The office is well equipped including voice mail, e-mail, fax machine, web page, computer support, and other standard office equipment required to facilitate a well organized Association operation. There are times when, because of the part-time status of the people involved, the office may transfer calls, switch to voice mail, etc., but in general there is someone constantly monitoring the activities of the organization.
WORK STYLE: The office staff is made up of dedicated individuals who understand the things that need to be done to make the organization effective, and they are able to organize their abilities in such a way that what needs to be done occurs in a timely and efficient manner. The office is a facilitating office--not a "doing it for everyone" office. The office is committed to helping the volunteers for the organization figure out what they need to do and then facilitating their being able to do it in the most effective manner possible.
EFFECTIVENESS: The effectiveness of any office is reflected by the perception of the people it serves. The general feedback from the membership is that they recognize that the Association is fortunate to have a well-organized, highly efficient organization representing it. The office responds in a timely manner to chapter/division/executive council requests as well as individual requests from members. There is turnover in the students and graduate assistants, but the quality of these people make them quick learners and hard workers. The Executive Director and staff are mainstays of the organization because they, through their longevity, have learned the policies, traditions, peculiarities and expectations of the Association.
PURPOSE: The office functions as the primary facilitator for Association business and activities. It also serves as the records and archives depository for the Association. The Executive Director maintains the continuity of the organization from year to year.
HISTORY: Since its inception in 1966, one of the stated objectives of the Association was to establish a central office and staff to maintain the continuity of the organization and to insure an efficient, effective operation of our activities. In 1986, Dr. Wilbur Tincher was chosen as the Association's first executive secretary. Upon his retirement in 1991, Dr. Ervin L. (Chip) Wood was named the Association's second executive. The office was then moved to Livingston. In 2000, the title of chief executive was changed to Executive Director. The ALCA office was moved to Birmingham when Dr. Nancy Fox officially began her service on January 1, 2018. She then retired on December 31, 2021. Mrs. Emily L. Rich took over as Executive Director on January 1, 2022.
PHILOSOPHY: While the Executive Director's office is the central office for the Association and serves as the main facilitator of the activities of the Association, it, like all of the other activities of the Association, is primarily run through the contributing efforts of the individuals involved. None of the central office staff are full-time. All of them are committed to the counseling profession and serve to help ALCA be effective and viable.
The Executive Director believes the strength of our organization is its members and very much adheres to that philosophy himself. It is very important that counselors have a viable presence statewide and to accomplish this the ALCA needed a person to organize, coordinate and maintain continuity.
The Association's central office is effective and efficient because it is highly organized. Personnel and resources are limited. It is very important that the members of the organization understand that the staff, like themselves, are members of the Association who serve because they want to and perform much of their work because of caring about people and the Association.
PART-TIME ASSISTANCE: The Executive Office includes the Executive Director. Some part-time help is hired periodically to assist with specific projects. The executive director is the conscience and stabilizing influence of ALCA. She has experience in education, counseling, and ALCA procedures, protocol, and issues.
FUNDING: The central office operates on a total budget of approximately $54,000 including all salaries, support for which it has to pay, and operational expenses. This figure represents approximately 25% of the Association's total budget. According to industry standards, normal administrative overhead for an organization would run 50-75% of the total budget. ALCA is able to do all of the things that it does for its members because we have been able to hold administrative costs to a minimum.
OPERATION: The ALCA office operates full time from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. each day. The office is well equipped including voice mail, e-mail, fax machine, web page, computer support, and other standard office equipment required to facilitate a well organized Association operation. There are times when, because of the part-time status of the people involved, the office may transfer calls, switch to voice mail, etc., but in general there is someone constantly monitoring the activities of the organization.
WORK STYLE: The office staff is made up of dedicated individuals who understand the things that need to be done to make the organization effective, and they are able to organize their abilities in such a way that what needs to be done occurs in a timely and efficient manner. The office is a facilitating office--not a "doing it for everyone" office. The office is committed to helping the volunteers for the organization figure out what they need to do and then facilitating their being able to do it in the most effective manner possible.
EFFECTIVENESS: The effectiveness of any office is reflected by the perception of the people it serves. The general feedback from the membership is that they recognize that the Association is fortunate to have a well-organized, highly efficient organization representing it. The office responds in a timely manner to chapter/division/executive council requests as well as individual requests from members. There is turnover in the students and graduate assistants, but the quality of these people make them quick learners and hard workers. The Executive Director and staff are mainstays of the organization because they, through their longevity, have learned the policies, traditions, peculiarities and expectations of the Association.
